Author: Life Focus Ministries

Who are we? Dr Robert McQuillan is recognised as an inspiring encourager, counsellor, mentor to ministries and Bible teacher ministering meaningfully on the prophetic edge. Robert and Maureen, a gifted communicator with an uncanny insight into knowing 'where people are at', delight to bless and encourage God's people and ministries... and touch the hearts of the unchurched in the marketplace. Contact: OnlinerConnect@gmail.com

NO WORRIES, MATE!

(April 22, 2024) Richard Winter encourages…

If you hang around with Australians for just a few moments you will hear them say to just about anything you say, ‘No worries, mate!’

Attitude
‘Mate’ is the ‘Ozzie’ slang term for ‘friend’ and this expression is widely used representing a feeling of friendliness, mateship, good humour, kindness, and optimism – like the American ‘No problem.’

It’s a great attitude to have! But… did you know that Aussies weren’t the first to say this when things looked difficult – that Jesus was the first to say, ‘No worries, mate!’

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HONOUR THE LORD – RECEIVE HIS BLESSINGS

(April 20, 2024) Norman and Margaret Moss reflect on receiving blessings from God…

Young authors who submitted their stories to the BBC’s 500 words competition were honoured recently at the Grand Final in Buckingham Palace. One of the winners in the age 5-7 group said that the Queen had touched him twice on the shoulder while talking to him.

His brother had said, ‘That means you’re a knight!’ Well not yet! Maybe later… who can tell!

But here’s something we can tell… God’s blessings overflow when we honour Him!

Honouring God
We were meditating on Exodus 20:24, ‘Wherever I cause my name to be honoured I will come to you and bless you’ and we felt the Lord was saying –

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GETTING REAL!

(April 19, 2024) Brian Bell shares ‘get real’ thoughts drawn from reading Paul’s 1Thessalonians 2NLT…

Perhaps like me, when you were growing up, you may have tried to imitate other people at times. In my generation it was not unusual for young boys to have a ‘cowboy suit’ which they would wear to ‘act’ like a real cowboy.

A television series The Lone Ranger was very popular then. In order to hide his real identity, the Ranger wore a face mask, although he was in his character role one of the ‘good guys.’ Zorro, another one of the good guys, also wore a mask to disguise his real identity.

When we come to Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, although the word ‘real’ is not used by Paul, he reflects on how he sought to live without any pretence or disguise… and get real, be real!

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PSYCHOLOGIST URGES PARENTS TO KEEP KIDS OFF SMARTPHONES

(April 18, 2024) A Movieguide® Contributor  reports this concern…

Social psychologist and NYU professor Jonathan Haidt urges parents to keep their middle schoolers away from smartphones. 

‘We’ve got to let kids get through at least early puberty. Get this all out of middle school. Let’s really protect middle schoolers’ brains. Give them a flip phone if you want to communicate with them, not a smartphone,’ Haidt said while appearing on FOX & FRIENDS. 

Mental Health’s Steep Decline
He explained that smartphones ‘lock you in’ in a way that flip phones don’t due to the lack of easy access to social media platforms. 

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PREFERRED – PANIC PURGING PRAYER!

(April 15, 2024) Wayne Swift again calls it as it is, challenging us to seek peace by prayer when panic hits…

The world we live in is beset by drama so often causing panic!

Panic Grabs
The media need consumers… and nothing grabs a consumer like an urgent situation. Media headlines always work to bring you closer so that you need their insights.

One day a while back I checked The Age website for the cricket scores. But what caught my eye, grabbing me, was the headline highlighting Australian share market slumps following US trend. Out of interest, I read the article Australian share market slumps, tracking Wall Street losses and found that the S&P/ASX200 had fallen 29.6 points, or 0.39 per cent, to 7493.6, weighed down by 10 out of the 11 sectors. 

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DIAGNOSED PARANOID SCHIZOPHRENIA, BUT GOD HAD OTHER PLANS

(April 13, 2024) Michael Ashcraft shares a good news testimony…

The monster at the top of the stairs started Andrew Goodwin’s slide into schizophrenia, when he lost all hope in the future until Jesus set him free.

‘It was a green figure about four feet tall with yellow eyes with this really evil sadistic look,’ Andrew describes on The Ex-Schizophrenic Perspective YouTube channel. The four-year-old ran to his mum. When she came, there was no longer any monster. She looked through every drawer and closet to reassure her son and then put him to bed.

Psychological torture
Andrew, of Retford, England, didn’t see any more monsters. But an inexplicable evil presence remained. It remained with him until he was 20 years old.

Then as a pre-teen, he was sexually abused by a slightly older video-gaming friend. ‘I could hear audible laughing voices cackling at me,’ he said. ‘It was almost like the devil had spoken into my life: “You can’t trust your family. They can’t look after you. They can’t protect you.”’

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RED ALERTS!

(April 12, 2024) Richard Winter reflects on dangers and challenges …

See the sun come up this morning, or any signs in the sky? For example… sunshine means warmer weather – that’s a good sign.

Did you know that Jesus has an important teaching about looking for signs?

Matthew 16:1-4NKJV records: ‘Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” And He left them and departed.’ 

Red Alerts
We all know that a Red Alert –
(i)  Signifies a warning.
(ii) Indicates eminent impending danger.
(iii) Gets our attention by its very colour.
(iv) Means alarm bells will be ringing danger!

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WHAT IS YOUR DEFINING MOMENT?

(April 11, 2024) Carol Round encourages… and challenges –

Looking back on your life, can you remember a choice leading to a life course change? At some point in our Christian lives, we’ve either faced or will be faced with crossroad decisions.
 
Crossroads decisions are defining moments. Those decisions influence or change our lives and affect our future. Imagine a fork in the road. Depending on the moment, and how you react to it, your life can go in one direction or the other.
 
It reminds me of Robert Frost’s poem, The Road Not Taken. The writer is travelling down a road where he must decide which path he will choose as ‘two roads diverged.’  As he debates his choice, he contemplates the differences between the two paths.

Ultimately, he chooses the path less travelled and says, ‘That has made all the difference.’

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SING! SING! SING!

(April 09, 2024) Brian Bell encourages joyful praise of God with our Christian music…

In his letter to the Ephesians, chapter 5:18-19 (NLT), Paul gives us some advice about living in the Spirit – ‘…let the Holy Spirit fill and control you. Then you will sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, making music to the Lord.’

And in Colossians 3:16NLT, Paul also encourages our worship along the same lines – ‘Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use His words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.’

Singing – a Heritage
From my earliest childhood, I was brought under the sound of Christian music. I sang in the children’s choir and later in the church choir. This influence grew when I became a Christian in my mid-teens and began to take a keen interest in the Christian music of my generation.

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RECOILING DARK ‘ICEBERG’ EXPERIENCES

(April 08, 2024) Robert McQuillan shares…

Last month’s news about Australian billionaire Clive Palmer refloating his dream to build a replica of the Titanic caught my attention.

His company, the Blue Star Line, intends the replica – Titanic II – to set sail in June 2027, the billionaire claiming that this ship would be ‘far, far superior to the original.’ 

Although the replica will have four funnels as had the original, this 21st century ship will be powered by a diesel engine. Modernisations will include upgrades to navigation technology and modern safety procedures – including sufficient lifeboats!

Recalling
My mind immediately recalled a little romantic 19th century novella. It’s by Morgan Robertson and I found myself digging it out to reread. Originally called Futility, it was renamed The Wreck of the Titan.

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